Interesting Fish caught a few days ago

[JohnR]

We all know how blues will eat & eat & eat, right? I was out fishing a few nights ago and caught a long but lean bluefish on a white spook. Long, probably 35-36 inches long - but really skinny. The fish isn't putting up much of a fight at all and I'm not sure if it is just a bunch of weeds. Anyway, I get this fish in, long and lean, and it looks like a fish that someone caught, eviscerated, and then threw over the side. I realize Clammer doesn't go as far southwest as I was so I knew it wasn't him.

The fish was not eviscerated but had actually wrapped itself in some kind of cloth line - much thicker than a dacron - that had literally cut the fish and inch to two deep all the way around the fish's body just behind the gills! This fish probably was probably feeding and feeding with nothing getting to its stomach. Anyway, cut the line of and released the fish. Not sure if it made it or not but it certainly was not going to make it otherwise...

Anyone ever see something similar?